In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

I heard extremely good reviews of this book. Based on the awesome reviews and awards it's won I expected a book parallel to those I love like The Hunger Games, Gone, etc. however I didn't come to like this book nearly as much.

One of the problems was that I didn't particularity like any of the characters. Mary annoyed me, she seemed to think that she cared about everyone but only did things for herself. I didn't get how her and Travis' relationship grew, or even came to be... it just sort of was... she also was really wish-y wash-y between whether she liked Travis, or Harry, or if neither of them was enough for her. I really did like Jed, I liked his struggle and his drive, opposite than Mary he seemed to do things for everyone, rather than himself.

From the description, the plot seemed twisted and fastpaced. However the plot seemed really choppy, either it was moving really slow, or moving too fast for me to keep up with.

However, the way Carrie Ryan writes was beautiful, she wrote with a gritty tone and detailed the scenery beautifully. Her post-apocalyptic world seemed real and would be a fantasy lovers dream.

Overall, it wasn't a bad read and everyone else seemed to like it. So maybe it's just me.Cover:Characters:Plot::Writing:Ending::

Monday, January 17, 2011

“I’ve left some clues for you. If you want them, turn the page. If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.” So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the New York Times bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions? Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

So I was in the mood for a fuffily romance, this was on my to read and I'm glad I picked this one to read! It was so cute!

I loved the characters, both characters wanted to be with someone during Christmas and they found each other through a red notebook in Strand (a bookstore I've always wanted to go to!) I loved how real they both were, Lily was sensitive and sweet, Dash was outgoing and funny. Shoutout to the supporting characters too because they were also awesome :)

I loved the plot, and how Dash and Lily got to know each other through these dares (My favourite was the Santa one hahahha) and the writing was great, I love when books switch POV between the main characters, and I especially love when the characters have such different voices. It makes them so much more believable.

Overall if you are looking for a cutesy fun read, I highly recommend Dash and Lily's Book of Dares!Cover:Characters:Plot:Writing:Ending:

Two years ago, when Eliza Sellman was in ninth grade, her dad found out he was being transfered and the family was going to move. Having always been shy and not so confident about her body, Eliza took that opportunity to start a list in her private notebook of all the things she planned on doing when she moved but had always been afraid to—like wearing a miniskirt and asking guys to dance; singing karaoke in front of strangers; posting a photo of herself on her Facebook wall in a bikini...you get the idea. New town, new Eliza, right? Well, she'll never know because the transfer fell through and they didn't move. But Eliza kept adding her goals and secret fears to the list in the notebook. Now it's two years later, and in that time Eliza has had and lost her first boyfriend. But this was more than your average breakup...turns out the sweet and cute Cooper was only dating her as a hazing stunt by a secret society. Eliza got her revenge by posting some pretty nasty (and only sort-of true) stuff about Cooper online. That posting has had major consequences and now Cooper and his buddies have stolen her private notebook and won't give it back until she performs all the things on her list in one night. It's torture...until Eliza steals something from the boys she knows they'll want to trade her notebook for. What starts out as a night of humiliation turns into a night of revelations as Eliza learns what Cooper was really thinking when they dated, the real reason he's stolen her notebook, and how freeing—and life-changing—it can be to do the things you fear the most.

I'll tell you, Lauren Barnholdt has a thing for breakups. Well, writing about them. I read and loved Two-Way Street and when I saw that she had another book out, it moved to the top of my wish list.

When Ginny receives thirteen little blue envelopes and instructions to buy a plane ticket to London, she knows something exciting is going to happen. What Ginny doesn't know is that she will have the adventure of her life and it will change her in more ways than one. Life and love are waiting for her across the Atlantic, and the thirteen little blue envelopes are the key to finding them in this funny, romantic, heartbreaking novel.

Okay so I don't really know what to say about this book. After reading it I was just like "ehh".The way Johnson writes is annoying because more than halfway into the book I really didn't know ANYTHING about the main character, other than that she was on a (ridiculous) journey. It was all action and no thought. It was not insightful, the main character was not likeable. She was just like...doing things. She didn't have very many thoughts. And never very insightful ones (I like this boy! I am sad. I am happy. I am angry. COME ON). There was no attempt made to make her a human, a believable character. Also the end was frustrating but kind of oddly moving (a little) at the same time

There were also things that Johnson wrote about that didn't make sense, such as where apparently she thought it was necessary to mention that Ginny checked her backpack into coat check at the Louvre however she didn't find it necessary to say that she picked it back up instead she magically had her backpack? That stuff confused me.

So yeah, 13 Little Blue Envelopes was okay, I'm glad it was a library book and I didn't buy it. Sorry the review was rant-y at the beginning. :)

Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything— including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

I got this book on an ARC tour I forgot I was on (thumbs up for surprises!) and I'm so glad I was on it, or else I might not have picked it up. Nightshade was a new take on werewolves that was not cliche at all and very much needed.

At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like Calla, but she grew throughout the story and learned not to just accept what everyone tells you is true, but to find out for yourself. I think that this is a really important lesson for everyone and I'm glad that it was included. :) And this is one of the very (veryveryvery) few books where I finished it teamless, I'm kind of leaning toward Shay if you were wondering.

Like I said before, the plot was really unique and refreshing and Andrea Cremer writes really well, especially as a debut novelist. Yay for Minnesota authors!

Overall, Nightshade was very very good. Oh yeah, and I'm starting the waiting line for Wolfsbane... cliffhangerssuck

Natalie Hargrove would kill to be her high school’s Palmetto Princess. But her boyfriend Mike King doesn’t share her dream and risks losing the honor of Palmetto Prince to Natalie’s nemesis, Justin Balmer. So she convinces Mike to help play a prank on Justin. . . one that goes terribly wrong. They tie him to the front of the church after a party—when they arrive the next morning, Justin is dead.

From blackmail to buried desire, dark secrets to darker deeds, Natalie unravels. She never should’ve messed with fate. Fate is the one thing more twisted than Natalie Hargrove.

Cruel Intentions meets Macbeth in this seductive, riveting tale of conscience and consequence.

When I started this book, I wasn't sure what to expect. I didn't like Natalie at all, I didn't really like her boyfriend Mike, but I decided to stick it out because the storyline was just so scandalous. Then the middle actually got really boring, but I kept reading and it's one of those books where you are glad you did because the ending was EPIC. So twisted, didn't even see it coming.

Natalie got better throughout the story, well she didn't really get better, but you got to know her and her reasons for acting the way she did and I empathized with her more by the end. I still didn't really like Mike, but his family sucked, so I'll blame it on that.

The writing was really good. I liked this one a lot better than I liked Fallen which I never did finish, I might try that again to see if Lauren Kate just has a knack for killer endings. Overall, The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove is really good if your looking for a book with lots of scandal.Cover:Characters:Plot:Writing:Ending:

I am off from school and just finished cleaning the tornado disaster area that was my bedroom. It's now all sparkly and new looking and will slowly decrease in disaster area by the next of my semi annual bedroom cleaning event. It's like clockwork.

I also happened to do quite a few other things that shall go up at some point later today...

Finished Nightshade (Review Coming)Finished Review of 13 Little Blue EnvelopesFinished Review of One Night that Changes EverythingFinished Review of The Betrayal of Natalie HargroveFinished Review of Dash and Lily's Book of DaresFinished In My Mailbox post (so what if I'm a little late?)Finished Picking the Final Contest Winner (and put up the post) (extra days to enter a contest never hurt anyone :) )

So yeah, you guys have some stuff to look out for. And we are one blog follower away from 200, can we fix this? Please????

Thursday, January 6, 2011

We have a special treat for you today, an interview with Melissa Walker, the author of Small Town Sinners which is one of my most anticipated books of next year, it comes out on July 19th 2011, so keep your eyes out for it then!What’s your favorite dessert?

I pitched and wrote a piece on Hell Houses for ELLEgirl when I was Features Editor there because I had heard about the concept from a friend’s mom. I was so intrigued by the small town I traveled to and the warmth of all the teenagers I met, plus their obvious passion for this production, that I had to revisit that world.

What were you like when you were Lacey Anne’s age?

At 16 I was obsessed with my clunker used car (which I’d saved up to buy since age 10), I was praying I’d find a boyfriend before high school ended so I could have an epic first love story (I did), I was being encouraged to write by my parents (thanks, Mom and Dad) and I spent nearly every moment with my group of friends, whom I laughed with nonstop. Now that I’m older and have met more people, I can confirm that they were and are some of the smartest and funniest people in the world.

What do you hope a reader will take away from Small-Town Sinners?

I hope readers will take away whatever they need in the moment that they read the book. Maybe that’s a sense of kinship with Lacey Anne because their world is changing too. Or maybe it’s that there are a lot of ways to have faith in the people around you. Mostly I just hope they like the book, and that something in it stays with them in a positive way.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I pounded out a paragraph-long tale called “The Very Vain Cloud” on my parents’ typewriter at age 6, and I never stopped making up stories. When I joined my high school yearbook staff and got to write articles, I knew I wanted to go into journalism. Fiction came later, after I met some crazy characters out in the world.

If you were directing the film version of Small-Town Sinners, who would you cast in a few of the main roles?

I’m a huge fan of unknowns, and I’d probably like to see fresh faces playing Lacey Anne and her friends, but that’s avoiding the question, right? If I had to cast, I’d go with Taylor Swift as Lacey Anne, Ashley Green as Starla Joy and maybe David Archuleta as Dean (does he act?). If not him, maybe a Jonas brother—probably Nick, with some weight gain. For Ty, I have a picture in my head that I can’t replace with a real actor. Book guys are better. I will say that I’d love to see Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton (Coach and Mrs. Taylor on Friday Night Lights) as Lacey Anne’s parents. Love them!

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a still-untitled book for Bloomsbury about a girl named Clementine who spends the summer with her parents and little sister on a boat. It’s the summer following a particularly dramatic year, and she has a lot of things to figure out about herself. Like why the hilarious red-headed guy who she keeps meeting dockside has such a hold on her thoughts when she’s supposed to be single this summer.

Monday, January 3, 2011

This debut, the first novel in a trilogy, is achingly romantic, terrifying, and filled with blistering action.

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember

First off, can I say that my expecations were probably miles into the sky for this book? I'm still trying to figure out if I was disappointed or not. So I'm using this review to try and figure that out. I think that if I had normal expecations for this book I wouldn't have been disappointed, you know?

The characters, I didn't have a character that I particularily liked, I felt like all you got to see was the surface of them. I didn't particularily like Ellie, or Will, they were all just alright. I feel like if you got to know them on a deeper level, I would have had a better chance at liking them.

The plot was one of the better parts of the story, altough I felt like it just jumped from action part to action part, I wish there was some linking parts that made the story flow better, also the relationship between Ellie and Will was a little awkward for my liking and some parts were rather unbelieveable, and those things always bug me more than they should. But the ending saved the story for me! It was very action-y and intense, in a good way!

Courtney's writing was overall quite good, and the story idea was very very original. I just feel that she could have exicuted it a lot better.

Overall, it was an alright read, if your already at the B&N then it wouldn't hurt to pick up a copy.Cover:Characters:Plot:Writing:Ending:

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